With Governor Tate Reeves adding his signature earlier last week, the state of Mississippi became the 50th and final state to add a pay equity law to its books. The new Mississippi law (HB. 770), which takes effect on July 1, 2022, prohibits employers from paying “an employee a wage at a rate less than the rate at which an employee of the opposite sex in the same establishment is paid for equal work on a job, the performance of which requires equal skill, education, effort and responsibility. . .“ As is the case with most other states as well as federal law, HB 770 exempts pay differentials based on a seniority system; a merit system; a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production; or any factor other than sex. On the flip side of that coin, the Mississippi law differs from many others in that it focuses solely on gender; expressly permits and employer to relay on salary history or continuity of employment, or market competition; and does not require pay transparency for applicants or employees.
